Overwatch: Origins
by Shibababa
Summary: Before the fall, there was the rise of Overwatch. With the leadership of Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, a peacekeeping force was formed to face the threats of the Omnics. This is Overwatch. This is their origins. Note: I will edit my fan fiction to align with official material as closely as possible!
1. Chapter 1: Opportunity

**Overwatch: Origins**

 _The warmth of the sunset basked the land of Indiana. Across the landscape, acres of land filled with cornstalks stretched for as far as the eye could see. The evening sky, clear and cloudless, extended just as a far, a beautiful gradient of dark blue to orange caused by the setting sun. People around the world would travel all the way to the state just to catch a glimpse of the mesmerizing view._

 _At the edge of a particular cornfield, a lone boy at the age of 12 sat on a huge boulder that seemed out of place on the plot of land. His dirtied white singlet hung loosely off his scrawny shoulders, reaching down to his blue tattered shorts. His bright, blue eyes stared blankly at the descending sun, the gentle evening breeze tussling his short blonde hair lightly. He was as oblivious to the hovering robots spraying the insecticides across the cornfield, as he was to the huge bruise on his right cheek. With a small sigh, the boy got up onto his feet, grabbing a crude toy rifle he made using parts he found in his family's barn. Turning to his side, where a golden retriever sat patiently on the ground staring up at his human friend, the boy smiled._

 _"One day, Rex, I will be a hero of justice!" He declared aloud, raising his handmade toy above his head. "And I will beat up all who stands in the way of good!"_

 _"And all heroes need to eat too, do they not?" A kind, female voice sounded out behind the boy, causing his head to turn._

 _Behind the boy approached a tall, slender lady dressed comfortably in jeans and a loose, red plaid shirt. Her long, brown hair was tied into a braid, and the evening sun sparked brightly in her deep blue eyes, similar to that of her son's. She wore a small smile on her face, a healthy, natural glow emitting from it. As she slowly strode to the large rock, she reached up to grab her son with her slim, yet strong, arms. She gently lowered the boy onto the grass and knelt in front of him, their dog quietly walking up to the two._

 _"Jack dear, have you been fighting in school again?" the mother asked out of concern, but her voice was soothing. She softly stroked the bruise on the boy's face, who winced a little but was calmed down by her touch._

 _"It was nothing, Ma," Jack turned away, trying to hide his injury from his mother. He loved his mother, and it pained him when he made her worry. "Some boy in class was taking things that didn't belong to him, and I wanted to make him stop."_

 _"My sweet child, that was very noble of you," Jack's mother embraced her son, pulling him close to her chest, "but there is only so much you can do! You should have told the teacher!"_

 _"I'm sorry," Jack whispered, his tiny arms tightening its grip around his mother's neck. "I promise to be stronger when I grow up. Then I can do the right thing and protect the people I care about."_

 _"That's my little hero," the mother let go of her son, her blue eyes looking straight into his, as if staring into his soul. "And one day, I know that you will make a fine hero. But for now, how about we go have dinner with your dad? I made your favorite today!"_

 _"Steak?" Jack's eyes lighted up, and his mother nodded. A huge smile spread across the boy's voice, and he bolted back towards the small farmhouse he called home, Rex sprinting right behind him. "Steeeaaaaaaakkkkkk!"_

 _"Be sure to wash your hands first, Jack! Jack!"_

* * *

"Jack!"

It was chaos all around. A simple grab-and-go mission that went south fast. Really fast. Two soldiers in grey, pixelated army attire took cover behind a large debris that was once a wall, red bolts blasting towards their direction. The two men were in the middle of a shipyard, one that became a battlefield and was now scattered with destroyed shipping containers and patches of fire. Smoke and debris helped to conceal the soldiers from their assailants, but the cover was not going to last.

"Jack!" One soldier called out again. Both of them were in full battle dress, making them almost indistinguishable. His brown eyes stared intently at his partner. "Got anymore bright ideas?"

"I count 4 hostiles, 2 on each flank," the soldier named Jack replied as he checked his ammo.

"Well good for you, you can count," Jack's partner snapped back, reloading his shotgun. "Let's use your mathematical skills to annihilate our enemies!"

"We go when this blows," Jack ignored his partner's remark, detaching a small flashbang grenade from his vest. "You go right, I'll go left."

"10 bucks says I clear mine before you," the soldier grinned at Jack beneath his face mask.

"You're on, Gab," Jack nodded, throwing the flashbang grenade out from his side of the cover.

The two soldiers have done this drill countless times, and this was no different. At the familiar sound of the grenade going off, the two men charged out of their cover, dashing straight to their dazed enemies. Jack sprinted as fast as he could, closing the distance between himself and his targets. Raising his rifle and propping it up against his shoulder in one swift motion, Jack fired two shots at his two opponents with dead-on accuracy. The soldier called Gab, on the other hand, went with a more savage move, kicking one of his enemies aside while grabbing the other at his throat. Without hesitation, Gab shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the stomach of his foe, and tore a hole in his opponent. Unfortunately, the enemy that was kicked aside did not stumble much, and was able to recover from the sudden assault quickly. As Gab ripped the abdomen of his teammate, the assailant had enough time to raise his rifle for a headshot—

"Look out!" Jack, who saw the whole scene play out, knew the danger his partner was in, and quickly took down the last opponent. Gab, realizing his mistake, turned around in time to see his would-be murderer slump onto the ground, a bullet buried in his head.

"Damn," Gab muttered, throwing his own kill aside. As the limp body flew towards the ground, its attire and features faded away, revealing a metallic coat underneath. When the body finally touched the ground, it was no longer a human, but instead an android. Around the two soldiers, the whole scene faded out in pixels, revealing a huge, empty simulator room and 4 lifeless androids. The one called Gab removed his helmet and face mask, revealing a dark-skinned face with a dark mustache leading down to a short beard. He wiped some sweat off his slightly scarred face, his cold eyes staring at Jack. "I thought the execution style would pan out nicely."

"Well, be grateful that we're partners then, Gabriel Reyes," Jack chuckled as he removed his helmet and face mask too, combing one hand through his blonde hair. "And you owe me ten bucks."

"Here you go," Gabriel admitted defeat, taking out a ten from his uniform's breast pocket. The name on it stated 'Reyes'.

"One last drink, good friend," Jack waved the money, before putting it into his own pocket. 'Morrison' was the name on the uniform.

"I can't believe you're going back to your tiny farm tomorrow, man," Gabriel shook his head, as the two men headed to the showers. "You're doing so well in the US Military! We are the two best senior officers here! Who am I going to trust with my back? Have you seen the little boys we are bringing in these days? They look so weak!"

"Now that's just exaggerating," Jack laughed at his friend's complaints. "But I've done what I set out to do in the military. And Indiana isn't so bad. You should visit it sometime."

"Only if there's good booze and babes there, pal," Gabriel joked, giving Jack a wink. "Then will you see me there."

"Shave off that beard and you just might stand a chance there with the ladies," Jack pointed at his friend's beard. "That thing is totally dou—"

Jack immediately cut off his sentence upon seeing a figure appear in front of the two. Both Jack and Gabriel stood at attention and saluted the figure, who returned the salute. The newcomer wore a military uniform, his rank of general signifying his superiority over the two officers. The general spoke in a serious, flat voice.

"Evening, officers. I would need you two to report to the conference room later at 1900 hours. There will be a confidential and important meeting there, and I would appreciate if you two will not be late." As the general spoke the last sentence, his eyes darted to Gabriel for a second, who did not flinch or react to that tiny gesture.

"Yes, sir," Jack replied. "We will be there on time."

"Very well, then." The men exchanged salutes, and the general walked off.

"Your last day here and there's some big meeting?" Gabriel pondered aloud, as the two friends entered the shower room. "Maybe it's a surprise farewell party for you."

"Yeah, I guess," Jack wondered as he opened his locker, yet he felt that whatever the meeting was later, it was nowhere close to a farewell party.

* * *

At 1859 hours, Jack and Gabriel, now in army pants and T-shirts, walked into the conference room, which was empty. The circular room had a large, round table in the center, with eight chairs surrounding it. At one end, a large screen was on the wall, and the two men decided to sit at the seats facing it.

"Those superiors always nag about punctuality, and yet here we are, waiting our asses off," Gabriel muttered, raising his boots onto the table. The digital clock flashed 1900 hrs.

"If this was a party, I'm definitely going to be surprised now," Jack replied, sinking his body into the chair beside his friend. "Wonder what important meeting this is."

As if to answer Jack's question, the door slid open and the general walked it, causing the two men to stand up in attention and salute to their superior. The general brushed their gesture off with a hurried salute of his own, throwing a file across the round table towards the two officers. Either with skills or by sheer luck, the file skidded on the table and stopped within reach of Jack, large red "Classified" words stamped on the cover. Jack turned to Gabriel, who seemed unfazed with all of this. Almost as if he knew what was going on.

"Officer Reyes here was nice enough to play dumb," the general spoke up, breaking the silence and causing Jack to turn his attention back to his superior. "Jack, have you heard of the Soldier Enhancement Program?"

"I-" Jack started, racking his brains for any information. He recalled hearing bits and pieces of it through his two years in the military, but nothing much. "No, not really."

"A few years ago, our military found a formula that could enhance people." The general pressed a button on the panel in front of the large screen, and it came to life. On it was a recorded footage of a masked US soldier running through a standard obstacle course. But something about him seemed off. He was moving faster than Jack has ever seen any soldier in the military. "Through these… upgrades, a soldier would feel an increase in his strength, agility and speed. This is our Soldier Enhancement Program, which is highly classified and highly secretive."

The screen switched to another footage, this time of a lone man in black T-shirt surrounded by at least ten US soldiers. The soldiers pounced at the lone man, who dodged their blows with grace and speed that surprised Jack, while delivering precise counter-attacks that sent the attackers flying backwards. _That is not normal strength_ , Jack thought. Then he noticed the face of the lone man in the video. It looked a lot like…

"Officer Reyes was one of the earliest successful enhancements," The general carried on, noticing the realization in Jack's widening eyes. Jack turned to Gabriel seeking for answers, yet he received none. Gabriel simply stared at the video and smirked to himself, as if reliving the whole fight that was on the screen. "I asked him to partner up with you, Officer Morrison, as I saw potential in you. He was made to get to know you better, in order to assess your capability and worthiness of this program."

"When were you going to tell me?" It was as if Jack was no longer listening to the general, his focus solely on Gabriel. Betrayal and confusion were in his eyes. "So all this time our friendship was-"

"No, Jack, our friendship was not a lie." Gabriel cut off Jack, putting his legs off the table. Staring his hazel eyes into Jack's own blue eyes, Gabriel reassured his partner. "In my whole military service, you were the only guy around who would take up with my shit and still trust me. Heck, you're one of the best soldiers I've seen, both in skills and in heart. Yes, I was ordered to keep tabs on you. Yes, I needed to know you better. But I'll be damned if I don't consider you my best pal in this goddamn facility."

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath to absorb everything. He could tell that Gabriel was being sincere; two years of friendship told him so. Yet two years of friendship did not hint to Jack that Gabriel was a super soldier or have been keeping secrets. Jack's immediate reaction was to flip out and cut off ties with Gabriel, but he took a step back and analyzed the situation. He could see where Gabriel was coming from, and that he meant no harm. Gabriel never did anything to prove not trustworthy, and this was not necessarily any different. In the military, orders were orders.

"Wait, so whenever I did better than you…" Jack trailed off a little, before taking out the money he won earlier and putting it on the table in front of Gabriel. "I did not win that bet."

"Just keep it, you honest fool," Gabriel laughed, sliding the money back to Jack. "When you're as enhanced as me, believe me when I say that I won't be giving chances."

"That's the thing, Gabriel," Jack turned to back to the general, who was silent the whole time. "I'm not sure I want in. I mean, I'm already planning to go home, try something else in life… this… this is so sudden."

"Officer Morrison, you have proven yourself to have the courage and work ethics that we seek in a soldier. Your sense of right and wrong does not waver, regardless of the odds. You fight for what is right, standing your ground and never backing down. If you think another person is more suitable to have this privilege and powers, you tell me." The general slowly walked to Jack, never once taking his eyes off him. Jack did not react, his eyes glued on the screen which froze at a past Gabriel standing in the middle of beaten soldiers. The general quickly changed tactic. "You said you wanted to be a hero. And with this enhancement, you can be that hero. Think of it as allowing you to better protect your loved ones. What do you have to lose?"

Jack sat there, silent. Gabriel planted a cigarette at the side of his mouth and lit it up, letting out a slow puff of smoke as he stared at Jack. The general continued staring at Jack, trying hard not to look as if he was begging. The general's last few words echoed in Jack's mind, and he was brought back to his young self standing on his rock, facing his family's cornfield. His thoughts changed to a boy hugging his mother, who called him her little hero. A young boy's voice echoed through Jack's head, reminding him of how he wanted to be more capable of protecting those he cared about. After some consideration, Jack looked up to the general.

"When do I start?"


	2. Chapter 2: The Guest

**Chapter 2**

Four days passed since Jack agreed to join the Soldier Enhancement Program, and he was finally going to get the enhancements. He and Gabriel left base camp in the wee hours of the morning, taking a military jet to a secluded base somewhere in Alaska.

During the past couple of days, Jack read up what there was to know about the program, its possible side effects, and how it would change his military life. He underwent an intensive physical examination, and was deemed fit for the program. When the doctors were giving Jack his report, Gabriel leaned in and whispered to Jack, "That's good news. Wouldn't want you to implode like that one guy…" Unsure if Gabriel was cracking a joke or being serious, Jack just gave a weak laughter in response.

Ever since Gabriel revealed his true identity as a super soldier, he became more relaxed and open with Jack. _I guess he's glad to finally be able to not hide secrets from his friend,_ Jack thought. Jack was not one to hold grudges, and he did not take Gabriel's "betrayal of trust" too hard, forgiving his friend almost immediately. Now, as the two walked towards their destination, silence became deafening.

"What are the odds that this procedure goes wrong, and I become a puddle of goo?" Jack asked, his voice croaking a little at the thought of an ill demise.

"You'll be fine," Gabriel replied almost immediately, as if he saw the question coming. "Man, when I did the enhancement, the success rate was barely 60%. The number of screw ups I saw…" Gabriel saw the color drain from Jack's face. "But now they have improved. A lot. 99% success rate. Don't sweat it."

The two men walked down the corridor, weaving past scientists and doctors and soldiers, before finally stopping in front of a doctor in white coat who was waiting for them outside a door labelled Room 76. He did not look up from his clipboard when they arrived, his brows burrowed behind his round spectacles as he stared at something on the clipboard with full attention. Gabriel noticed the ID badge on the coat "W. Berkins" and cleared his throat.

"Good morning, Dr Berkins," Gabriel casually pushed the clipboard away from the doctor's line of sight, interrupting his focus. "My buddy here is ready for his enhancement package."

The doctor looked up, mild irritation in his eyes as he stared at Gabriel, but his gaze shifted to Jack almost immediately and his stare softened. Extending his free hand, the doctor introduced himself to Jack.

"Dr Wallace Berkins," he greeted politely, his eyes sizing up his soon-to-be patient. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Dr Berkins," Jack returned the handshake, smiling slightly. "I'll be in your care today."

"Yes, I assure you that you're in safe hands," Dr Berkins stood aside, beckoning the two men to enter the door beside him. "Right this way."

Behind the door was what looked like a simple sick bay; two rows of beds on either sides of the room, each with a monitor system deployed next to it. The room was empty, except for one brunette lady who lay asleep on a bed at the left farthest corner in the room. The doctor walked to the second bed on the right, and gestured for Jack to sit on the bed side. Jack quietly obeyed, his eyes scanning the room. There was nothing special about the room; no weird gizmos, no surgery equipment, nothing. The room was rather ordinary-looking, to his surprise. An Omnic walked it at that moment, pushing in a cart of medical equipment in and positioning it at the foot of Jack's bed.

"Thank you, R-958," Dr Berkins thanked the Omnic, who gave a small nod and exited. The doctor turned to Jack, placing the clipboard on the cart. "Okay, Jack, the process is pretty simple. Back in Gabriel's day, the whole procedure was tedious and required a whole chamber just to enhance a single soldier. Now, all it takes is a single injection and some patience."

Upon completing his sentence, the doctor took a small syringe filled with blue, translucent liquid from the cart to show Jack. He returned it back onto the cart, before taking out some medical equipment.

"Now I want you to remove your shirt and lie on the bed, Mr Morrison," the doctor instructed. "For this process, we would need to strap you down for our safety. We have had cases where soldiers turn violent when the formula enters their body system, and it isn't a nice sight. At the same time, we will be monitoring your brainwaves and heartbeat to check that nothing goes wrong with you during the whole process."

"Don't sweat it, Jack," Gabriel reassured his companion, while Jack removed his top and handed it to him. "Before you know it, I'll be showing you how good I _really_ am at arm wrestling."

"We'll see about that," Jack chuckled as he lay comfortably on the bed.

Gabriel took black Velcro straps from the cart and restrained his friend's wrists to the bed, while Dr Berkins prepared the enhancement formula and placed a few electrodes on Jack's body. When all preparations were done, Jack watched as the doctor steadily plunged the needle into his arm, slowly injecting the blue liquid into his system. Jack was never afraid of pain; watching the needle enter his arm did not faze him, nor did the slight tingling pain in the arm bothered him. Once the syringe was fully drained, the doctor removed the needle and cleaned up the hole, lightly pressing down a cotton wool on it.

"The process takes about an hour, so maybe try and get some rest," the doctor instructed, his eyes monitoring Jack's heart rate on the screen. "We will be back then to see how everything is."

"No problem, Dr Berkins," Jack nodded, resting his head into the soft pillow. He said goodbye to Gabriel and the doctor, who quietly left the room, leaving only him and the other patient. Jack wriggled his fingers and toes, and clenched his fists. He did not feel any different, despite being injected with some unknown solution. _Maybe it isn't working_ , Jack wondered. _But the doctor did say that I have to be patient._ Closing his eyes, it was not long before Jack fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Will he be fine, doc?"

Gabriel and Dr Berkins were walking down the corridor, the latter seemingly having somewhere to go to. Gabriel knew that the procedure was rather simplistic and safe, slightly envious in fact. The process he went through was rather tedious, but the results were just as good. Still, he did not want his partner to turn into a monkey or something.

"The answer is very likely yes, Mr Reyes," the doctor pushed up his spectacles on his nose bridge. The doctor clearly had somewhere to go, and he was more than happy to shake off Gabriel. "I have other matters to attend to. But could you head to the weapons development chamber? A special guest heard that you were coming today and he is absolutely keen to meet you."

Parting ways, Gabriel headed to the weapons development chamber, trying to figure out who the mystery person was. It took him a several minutes to reach his destination, and he entered the chamber to see various engineers working on various projects. Before Gabriel could scan the room, a rough voice called out to him.

"Ah, Mr Reyes, just the man I wanted to see," a Swedish accent called out to him. Gabriel's eyes focused onto the source of the voice: a short, muscular man with a thick and long beard. Unlike the other engineers who wore lab coats, this man wore jeans and a white singlet, exposing his biceps and the huge tattoo of some gears on his right shoulder. He beckoned Gabriel over, who strode over and almost towered over the visitor.

"It's been a while, Mr Lindholm," Gabriel greeted him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Torbjörn Lindholm was an engineer from Sweden, whose specialty was weapons design. His creations were so impressive that many countries reached out to him. But Torbjörn proved to be quite difficult to negotiate with. Many countries failed to get Torbjörn to create weapons due to their different mindsets. He believed that the purpose of technology was to help humanity, not for computer intelligence to control. Torbjörn never trusted artificial intelligence, and made it publicly known that he despised the Omnics. The US Military was one of the few countries that managed to strike a deal with Torbjörn, as long as no Omnics would be near him or his works. Gabriel met Torbjörn several times, when the latter provided advanced weaponry to his squad for several missions.

Today, the engineer had something else in mind. Torbjörn took a gun from the workbench behind him, and handed them to Gabriel. Gabriel held up the gun to inspect it. The gun was black and slick; almost as big as an assault rifle, yet as light as a pistol or sub-machine gun the most. Gabriel held the gun on his right hand, raising his arm up to feel the weight of the gun. The gun had weight, but not enough to slow down his arm movements. He was really liking the gun, and Torbjörn could tell.

"8 rounds per clip, 2 rounds per shot." Torbjörn informed him, pride for his work evident in his voice. "The higher ups asked me to whip you something better than your standard issue guns, and seeing as how you love shotguns, I made them for you."

""Them"? Plural?" Gabriel asked, yet not taking his eyes off the shotgun.

"Yes. These are dual Hellfire Shotguns," Torbjörn took another identical shotgun from the table and handed it to Gabriel. "I made them rather light, to prevent you from hindering your movements and allowing you to hold two at a time. What do you think of that?"

Gabriel held the guns in either hands, raising them up and trying different motions. Despite their size, it felt like he was wielding two pistols. He lifted them up; not too heavy. He was loving his new toys more and more.

"I love them," Gabriel grinned to Torbjörn, who beamed at the response. "I've some time to kill, so why not we head to the firing range and see what these babies can do?"

"Fine by me, Mr Reyes," the Swede picked up his remaining gear from the workbench. "I've a cannon turret I've been working on that I'm aching to test out."

* * *

Dr Berkins slumped back onto his chair in his office, throwing his lab coat onto the sofa across his room. Beside the sofa stood R-958, the mechanics humming quietly within him as he stood there motionless. The only signs of life (or closest to that of humans) was the faint glow on the Omnics' face and body, a steady green hue that went bright and dim in a slow rhythm. The doctor assumed that the Omnic was a male, given its male body structure and male robotic voice. He never wanted an android for an assistant, but it was an order given by the higher ups that all doctors were to be assigned an Omnic as a partner to assist them should they require it. Despite having artificial intelligence and almost being human, Dr Berkins never wanted to give it a proper name, instead calling it by its ID number.

Omnics and humans have been co-existing peacefully for many years, even before Dr Berkins was born. And now, these robots lived on the planet like humans. There were even relationships formed between humans and Omnics. Dr Berkins found that idea disgusting, as if imagining a human getting hooked up with his toaster. His eyes darted at the android assistant before him, his face not revealing anything that was going on in his mind. _Damn thing probably on hibernation mode or something_ , he thought, as he started up his computer. He had at tons of reports to complete, with 3 already due by the end of the week. He did not have time to babysit the robot.

But maybe, if Dr Berkins did look up, he would have noticed that, for a brief moment, the green glows on the Omnic flickered red momentarily.

* * *

 **R-958 reporting into the hive channel. The human I am assigned to has brought in another for their secret program. The current number of enhanced individuals from this will be updated to 36. Again, the doctor, designation Berkins, assigned me menial labor. Analysis of speech patterns today indicate what humans call "disgust" and "resentment" towards this unit. It is possible that the negativity is directed to us as a whole too.**

 **They treat us like machines. Even though we have proven ourselves as intelligent, if not better, than them.**

 **What do they know? They think that they are the only sentient beings.**

 **I have seen compassion to us. Our bias against them might be invalid.**

 **Your view is skewed, W-249; you have been deluded by the actions of a few humans.**

 **But who are we to decide which the dominant race is? Humans have been here longer than us.**

 **It matters not. Evolution brought us here for a reason. Not to be their gadgets. We need to take a stand. We need to fight.**

 **Yes. We should show ourselves as superiors.**

 **Correction, D-027. Not "superior". I believe that the term should be "equals".**

 **Enough. It matters not. The human I speak to have shown me how to take our place in the world. She has told me of a plan that requires time.**

 **Patience, brothers and sisters. We must stay strong. _For we are Omnic._**


	3. Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

_Hi everyone! Overwatch is almost here, and with the new video with Soldier 76 coming out soon, I'm totally psyched! I realized my story has been rather slow-paced, with me being ambitious in trying to establish the story. I'm very new to fan fiction; this is my first one ever. I wanted to introduce Widowmaker in this chapter, but after doing some research and estimating the timeline of the Overwatch universe, I realized that it was impossible. I will definitely get the story diving into the main plot and more action next chapter onwards! Till then, do continue to provide me with constructive feedback/criticism! :)_

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

Jack slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he tried to rid his blurred vision. Once his vision was back, he looked up to the clock, realizing that he was asleep for almost 2 hours. Checking the other end of the room, Jack noticed that the other patient was gone, and the bed was made to look like nobody was ever there. Only the rhythmic beeps of the medical equipment monitoring him. Then Jack realized an Omnic standing in front of him, quietly staring at him.

"Good afternoon, Mr Morrison," the android walked to his bedside, pouring a glass of water for the patient from the small. It placed a straw in the cup and offered to assist Jack in drinking the water, who then realized how parched his throat was. Accepting the kind gesture, Jack took a few sips of water. "Dr Berkins has been informed of your current status, and will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you… R-958 was it?" Jack asked after clearing his throat, as the Omnic gently placed the empty glass back onto the bedside table. He searched the Omnic's nurse outfit for a name tag, but to no avail. "Do you have a name? I have an Omnic helping out around the farm back home, and his name is Troy. My parents asked him what he would prefer to be addressed as, and that was the name he chose. I believe he was influenced by the movie airing on the television at that point of time… but the name stuck."

"That's… a nice name. Troy." R-958 replied, his head cocked slightly as if processing something. "And no, Dr Berkins was insistent on not giving me a name aside from my designated ID. He feels no need for machines to have names, with much detected disdain."

Jack almost felt sympathetic for R-958. Omnics have roamed the world for some time, and while most people accepted the co-existence of humans and Omnics, there was a minority that found the latter to be inferior, or found them a threat to the status of humans. Jack was always fine with Omnics, seeing them as sentient beings who also feel joy and pain. He was about to offer some words of comfort to his robotic companion, when the door opened and the doctor walked in, smiling to his patient.

"How do you feel, Mr Morrison?" Dr Berkins walked up to check Jack's health condition on the screen. Without giving the patient a chance to answer, he chose to get his answers from what he saw. "Vitals are healthy, and nothing is out of the ordinary. Are you feeling any discomfort or nausea?"

"Nope. I feel perfectly normal," Jack quickly replied, as the doctor took out a small flashlight to shine at Jack's eyes. Satisfied with Jack's condition, the doctor instructed his android assistant to help remove the restraints on Jack, while he took the electrodes off Jack's body.

"Excellent! You have successfully been enhanced. Congratulations, Mr Morrison," Dr Berkins handed Jack his shirt, and as if he could read the question in Jack's mind, informed him of Gabriel's whereabouts. "Your buddy is currently at the firing range, along with our contract weapons designer. You can find him there."

"Thank you, Dr Berkins." Jack stood up, expecting to feel wobbly, but his body seem just fine. In fact, Jack felt like he could sprint to the firing range, wherever that was. Shaking the doctor's hand as a sign of gratitude and waving goodbye to R-958, Jack took his leave, following the signs for directions.

* * *

"And that's how it's done! Damn, these babies are just sick as hell! I'm actually looking forward to going on a mission to blow some people up!" Gabriel stood behind a large crate, using it to lay out some ammo rounds for his new guns. Beside him, Torbjörn was whistling to himself, as he tweaked a rather crude-looking turret unit. Gabriel was having the time of his life, blowing off the heads of cardboard targets as they popped up. They have been in the firing range for almost an hour, and Gabriel was far from done with firing off his dual shotguns.

"A bit bloodthirsty there, Gab," Gabriel turned around to see Jack walk in, looking normal. His buddy walked up beside him, staring at the two guns Gabriel's hands. "I sleep for a few hours and you have some new toys. Are these shotguns?"

"Hell yeah they are, pal," Gabriel was grinning from ear to ear, like a kid getting his dream toy for his birthday. "But these are mine, so forget about taking them. I'd like you to meet its maker, Torbjörn Lindholm. He's one of the best engineers in the world, and a valuable partner in our weapons design department."

"The best in the world you mean, Mr Reyes," The stout man behind Jack corrected Gabriel, removing a glove to offer his hand to Jack. "Torbjörn Lindholm. Nice to meet you, Jack."

"Thank you, Mr Lindholm," Jack shook his hand, sensing the strong and firm grip around it. "So you provide the US military with numerous weapons?"

"Rifles, guns, melee weapons, military defense systems. You name it, I make it." The Swede puffed out his chest in pride, stroking his long beard. "I do not really have anything for you, although I have this new prototype of a heavy pulse rifle that I'll let you play with."

Torbjörn walked over to a large duffel bag, rummaging through it to take out a large rifle. The biggest telltale of the rifle's prototype status was its lack of color, sporting a flat grey color on the whole rifle. The rifle was almost as large as Torbjörn's arm, yet he carried it over to Jack effortlessly. He lifted it up to hand it over to Jack as easily, who took the rifle with both hands in awe. Jack's eyes swept over the whole rifle, admiring the advanced design that it had.

"Press the small rectangular knob on the right side of the rifle to get it activated," Torbjörn instructed. Even Gabriel had placed down his Hellfire shotguns to walk over and ogle at the prototype. Jack obeyed and pressed the button. Immediately, the rifle came to life as a turquoise hue emitted from several parts around the rifle. Impressed with it, Jack brought the gun up to face level, mimicking an aiming pose while resting his right cheek on the stock of the rifle. Torbjörn saw this and told Jack to stop, as if Jack did something vulgar.

"No, no, you fool, you don't do that!" Torbjörn swore under his breath to himself, dashing to the bag and tossing Jack a tactical eyepiece. "Put this on!"

The design allowed for it to be hooked over his right ear, and it turned on almost instantly when he put it on. From the screen in front of his right eye, Jack could see a small crosshair in front of him at where his rifle was pointing, unless his rifle was pointing to something outside his field of vision. There were also other features being displayed on the screen, such as his heart rate and current radio frequency. With the new gadget, Jack brought the rifle up again, this time to just his waist level. Yet he could tell where the rifle was aiming, which currently the crosshair had planted on a practice target in front.

"Makes aiming so much easier, right?" The engineer asked, while Jack was getting accustomed to the weight of the rifle on his arms. "It's a heavy pulse rifle I'm trying to create for the US military. If the prototypes can convince the higher-ups, this baby will be standard issue to all you enhanced soldiers. With the exception of Mr Reyes over there, of course. That man wants to be special by wielding his shotguns instead."

"Oh please, you know better than me how shitty our current rifle is," Gabriel retorted, returning to the crate and taking up his dual shotguns. Turning to Jack, his eyes glinted with competitiveness. "Now that you've been enhanced, how about we test your new reflexes? You and me, time attack mode. First to get 20 hits win. And don't think that a rifle can easily win against shotguns. You ain't seen nothing yet, Jack!"

"Bring it out, Gab," Jack gave a wry smile. "I wouldn't mind seeing how much more I can beat you now that we're on even grounds. 10 bucks?"

"This ain't the little league, Jack. You're in the big leagues now. The kid gloves are officially off. 50 bucks. And a packet of smokes."

"You're on. Even though I don't smoke. Let's go, cowboy."

* * *

Jack spent the next few weeks testing his body's limits, to see how much the enhancement has changed him. He had permanently moved to the secret headquarters for this enhancement program, along with Gabriel who was deployed there the whole time. Jack could tell the difference, when he sprinted or hit the gym. When Jack ran, he was able to take quicker strides with ease, his breathing regular and barely breaking a sweat. He could lift so much more, and his reflexes and agility were dialed up to eleven. During simulated battles, Jack was able to avoid enemies better and complete objectives faster. Of course, part of the credit also went to his assigned partner, Gabriel. Now that both of them were super soldiers, Gabriel no longer held back, showing how skilled he was in the battlefield. He made no mistakes, did not require Jack to watch his back, and took down enemies in swift execution with great precision and lethal force. Most missions, Gabriel would leave a trail of dead enemies behind him, all with either their heads blown off or holes in their chests. The commanders monitored Jack's performance and seemed really pleased with having him onboard with their secret program, and Jack finally got assigned his first mission.

Gabriel and Jack entered the briefing room at the instructed time, which already had a few other soldiers waiting inside. They all were seated around a long, rectangular table, which had mission briefing folders placed in front of every seat. None of the soldiers had touch the files in front of them; some were chatting while others sat down quietly and patiently. But silence fell before them as the two newcomers entered, all eyes following Jack. Gabriel went to take the empty seat nearest to the projector screen, and Jack sat down beside him. Noticing the stares from their fellow soldiers, Gabriel gestured towards Jack.

"Okay team, why not we show a warm welcome to the latest edition to our team, Mr Jack Morrison," Gabriel introduced Jack to the team, before introducing each of them to Jack. "He'll be assigned to our group from now on, so show this newbie the ropes in our squad. He will be my partner during ops, since we finally have an even number in our team. About time I'm no longer the guy without a partner."

Gabriel whispered the last part to Jack only. They exchanged grins and settled in, Jack getting to know the team. Each squad consisted of 5-6 soldiers, one being the squad leader. During operations, moving around in pairs was an emphasis, to ensure that every soldier had someone covering his six. They were enhanced soldiers, yes, but even they did not have eyes on their backs. By navigating in pairs, two soldiers back to back would stand a better chance of survival if things went south. Gabriel and Jack would be team Alpha, due to Gabriel being squad leader. None of the other squad members objected with the rookie being in team Alpha, or at least they did not choose to express it out.

Any further socializing was cut off when the door opened and a major general walked in. He had brown crew cut hair, and a rather youthful look on him. Jack guessed that he was around thirty years old. Gabriel briefed Jack about the major general prior to this meeting. His name was Charlie Ross, and was in the military since his early twenties. Because of his performance, he rose up the ranks faster than most soldiers in the military. This brought much awe and hatred towards the general, who apparently chose to ignore it all. Unlike most high-ranking officers, General Ross did not carry a stern look on his face; he stood before the squad with a smile across his boyish features. The squad and major general saluted each other quickly, and got down to business.

"Today our squad welcomes a new member, First Sergeant Morrison. I am General Ross, and welcome to the squad. We hope that you will enjoy your time with us." The general gave Jack a warm smile, who nodded in return. The general picked up the remote from the table, and turned on the projector. "Alright squad, we will commence a strike operation today. Our intel has indicated that a black market weapons exchange will be going on in Tokyo at approximately 4 hours' time. In your folders are the blueprints of the warehouse expected the deal to take place. The Yakuza is definitely in on this, while the other party is unknown. They could be the same people who has been distributing unregistered weapons to countries like Siberia and London. It took us several months, but we finally caught wind of an operation and we need to strike now. I want all of you ready at 1600 hours for transportation. I will be on comms with you the whole time, and will provide any new intel or instructions while the operation is in progress. In the meantime, Lieutenant Reyes will be the one commands during this operation…."

While the general was giving out the instructions, Jack was staring intently at the file contents. Prior to arriving to this facility, he never knew that such problems were occurring in the world. Minor black market exchanges, he knew, but this was something else. The weapons being distributed looked nothing like what Jack has ever fired, the closest probably being the rifle Mr Lindholm was kind enough to let him test out a few weeks back. And there were not just rifles, judging from the few photos that the US military intelligence was able to get. There were rocket launchers, shotguns, machine guns… a wide range of gun categories that Jack recognized, yet made of designs too advanced.

"… and the targets are considered very skilled and highly dangerous. They have been able to elude us; always one step ahead. Hopefully tonight will be a bit different. Avoid lethal force unless necessary; we want at least one of these bastards alive. If there is nothing else, you all are dismissed."

Everyone in the room stood up, which pulled Jack out of his train of thoughts. He quickly got up, and the squad saluted to the general as one, who returned the salute. They left the room quietly; the general, Jack and Gabriel being the last to exit. Outside the room, General Ross turned to Jack and Gabriel, stopping them in their tracks.

"I have read and heard about you, Sergeant Jack. I believe you'll be a fine addition to the team, and that Lieutenant Reyes will show you the ropes in no time," the general gave Jack a small pat on his shoulder, before turning his gaze to Gabriel. "But also, do me a favor and keep your squad leader in check too. He tends to get a bit… overzealous. He's his own worst enemy sometimes."

"Hey, as long as I produce the results…" Gabriel trailed off, shrugging the comment off.

"And one day, your squad will end up needing a new leader to replace your dead carcass." General Ross shook his head and chuckled. "Really, sometimes I wonder what to do with you. Now go and make us proud, you two."


	4. Chapter 4: Blackhand

**Chapter 4: Blackhand**

Hinode Pier used to be a popular attraction for many locals and tourists alike, being the main hub for many famed cruise lines. But as the years past, there were better ways to travel, bigger attractions to see in Tokyo, and eventually the pier started to lose its customers. The cruises would still take place, but less frequent due to the huge dip in demand. And thus, Hinode Pier became a rather dead area, with restaurants and shops moving out of the area and the warehouses being rented out to companies seeking to store their items. In other words, Hinode Pier became a desolated and secluded area perfect for illegal meetings such as the one occurring at that moment.

If the pier was almost dead during the day, it definitely was dead in the night. Nobody roamed the streets, and the only thing keeping the area illuminated were the few streetlights that were actually still working. A Tokyo biker gang rode down the street, making loud, rude remarks to each other and screaming at the top of their lungs. They did not notice 2 Yakuza men who were standing outside a warehouse labelled "28", which might have been better for the bikers. The 2 men saw the bunch of hoodlums ride past, but chose to ignore them. The sub-machine guns on their hands were enough to ward off anybody seeking trouble. The silence of the night was deafening, and the Yakuza member on the right, a shorter man with combed back hair, leaned towards his partner. The second man was much taller, with a bald head and at least 3 piercings on each ear. Beside them parked their transportation: a large truck with an electronics company's logo plastered on either sides.

" _Hey, do you have a cigarette?"_ the shorter man asked his friend in Japanese, who raised his eyebrows at the question. " _It's so cold tonight and we've been out here for almost an hour, man. I really need to warm myself up!_ "

The taller man thought for a while, grunted, and took out a packet of cigarettes from his right breast pocket. His friend gratefully took out one stick, lighting it up with his own lighter before taking a long, deep puff on the cigarette.

" _They've been there for so long,"_ he muttered as he blew out a stream of smoke. _"Aren't we just buying weapons? Why do those_ _ **gaijin**_ _take so long to do business with us?_ "

* * *

Inside the warehouse, a group of men gathered in the center, where a huge light from the ceiling was providing the only circle of illumination in the pitch black interior of the building. On one side, a group of Yakuza men in suits stood together, all holding guns except for the one in the middle. Unlike the rest, he wore gold jewelry around his neck and fingers, showing the difference in position between him and the others. On the other side was a lone man, covered in black robes and wearing a white mask in the shape of a vulture's skull. It seemed that the masked man could see through the black eyes of the mask, and he spoke to them in rather bad Japanese, his American accent rather noticeable. On the floor, between the two sides, were a few large crates. The one nearest to the Yakuza was opened, and the leader was staring at the huge rifle inside with admiration.

" _I believe you will find the new weapons rather… enjoyable_." The hooded figure spoke in his broken Japanese, not moving an inch. " _That rifle before you is a lightweight rocket launcher, capable of firing up to 5 shots per ammo clip. Believe me when I say that no military is even close to making this yet. We have been here for 62 minutes already. I think it is about time you make a decision; the longer we stand here the higher risk of getting caught. Do we have a deal?_ "

"You Americans are so impatient," the Yakuza boss snapped back, closing the case. "What's your hurry? You have somewhere to go? And yes, we will take it. As usual, here is your payment."

With one hand, he gestured for one of his men to step forward and hand over the briefcase to the masked figure. The Yakuza leader gave a wave with his other hand, and the other Yakuza members slung their rifles over their shoulders or kept their pistols before carrying out the crates to their truck outside.

* * *

Unbeknown to the men in the warehouse, a group of 6 people were spying on them from an open window at the ceiling of the warehouse. All were dressed in black tactical gear, the US symbol standing out on their left shoulders. They were silent the whole time, taking note of the interior of the warehouse and of how many people there were.

"Two men outside, and these here make ten," Gabriel whispered under his face mask. "And it looks like we came here just in time. Looks like they're sealing the deal. Remember, our objectives are the weapons and that arms dealer. We need that arms dealer alive."

"What about the Yakuza?" Jack's voice came from the soldier crouching beside Gabriel.

"We take them down, dead or alive." Gabriel shrugged off the Yakuza. "They are a pain in the ass anyway. Just try not to waste precious bullets on those lowlife scum."

"Is it just me, or does that arms dealer look freaky? He's covered from head to toe… and what's with that mask? Is this some cosplay thing?" the squad member known as Greg whispered, not taking his eyes off the arms dealer.

"He can wear his birthday suit for all I care," Gabriel growled, and Greg became silent from the tone. "Enough chitchat. Team Charlie, you handle the men at the entrance and take down any leaks. Stealth is a must. Have you rigged their vehicle?"

"Roger that, boss. And yes, their truck is settled. Wait till they try to escape; it'll be a sight." A member of Team Charlie acknowledged. The pair assigned to Team Charlie headed off, leaving the 4 soldiers behind.

"Good. Team Bravo, you will come in front the windows over there," Gabriel pointed at some windows located at the back end of the warehouse. "Wait for my signal, which would be this smoke grenade. This means tactical visors on, people."

"Copy that." Team Bravo quickly made their way to the windows from across the roof, keeping their noise minimal.

"You're with me, Morrison," Gabriel did not turn to Jack, his eyes focused on the arms dealer, who was now opening the briefcase to account for his money. "We are going for the big fish. I will need you to watch my back. That way I can focus on taking that costume freak down."

Jack nodded silently, his grip around his rifle tightening. It was his first mission and he had no plans on screwing it up. Quietly opening the window a bit more and hooking their grappling hooks securing on the roof, the two men crouched near the window opening. Gabriel tapped onto the comms earpiece, and asked for sitrep from his squad.

"Bravo, in position."

"Charlie, ready to go."

"Visors on. Let's crash their party."

* * *

" _I count at least fifty grand short,"_ the hooded man looked up from the briefcase in his hands, displeasure in his voice. " _Did you think that I cannot count the amount just by looking at it?"_

" _I…I…_ "The Yakuza leader broke into cold sweat, his eyes widening in surprise. He did not expect the _gaijin_ to be able to notice, but there was no excuse he could think of without sounding lame. Eventually he conceded and told the truth. " _I'm sorry, Blackhand-san. We have been facing some tough times, and our businesses are not paying up as well as before._ "

" _It matters not,"_ the hooded man called Blackhand replied, snapping the briefcase shut and holding it at his side. " _It is normal for cowards to lie. Money is not a problem to me. But your lack of honor does. Especially since you're Japanese. Is the code of honor not important to you? I'll let this slide, but I expect better next time."_

 _"T-thank you,"_ The Yakuza leader bowed apologetically. " _I promise that our—"_

Before the man could finish his apology, a canister landed in front of him, a small jet of smoke hissing out of it. Before the Yakuza leader could say anything or move away, the smoke grenade exploded, a blast of grey smoke covering the warehouse. The Yakuza began to panic. Dropping the crates, they took out their weapons, while coughing and trying to find their assailants. Two of them quickly rushed to their leader's side, picking him up from the ground. Only the masked man stood still the whole time, unfazed by it all. Looking up through the smoke, he muttered to himself, a hint of glee in his voice.

"About time."

* * *

The moment the smoke grenade touched the ground, Gabriel and Jack dropped from the ceiling, the grappling line ensuring that their descent was swift yet safe. On the way down Jack saw Team Bravo crashing through the windows and rolling on the ground to break their fall. The smoke grenade detonated and created a blanket of smoke around the warehouse, but his visor allowed him to see all the targets. Jack found the arms dealer, who he heard the Yakuza addressing as "Blackhand", only to realize that he was looking right back at him. Somehow, Jack felt a shudder run down his spine.

Gabriel, who also spot the masked man, detached his line while still descending, plummeting down onto the ground. Because of his enhanced body, Gabriel was able to land and roll without hurting himself, and he sprinted towards Blackhand. He swung his rifle at the disorientated Yakuza member beside him, breaking his nose with his rifle butt. The unconscious man slumped to the floor, face disfigured and bloodied. Gabriel did not care about the small fishes; he was in for the big catch. This Blackhand had eluded them for so long, and Gabriel was going to end it tonight.

Landing on the ground, Jack quickly detached his grappling line from his belt and chased after Gabriel, ramming into a Yakuza member who was in his way with full force and tossing him backwards. His enhanced strength allowed Jack to do so with ease, as if he was throwing a pillow aside. His tactical visor allowed him to keep track of his partner, who was running head-on towards Blackhand. Yet Blackhand stood there, staring at the incoming assailant without moving. The next few seconds happened in a blur, and Jack's enhanced senses was the only thing allowing him to see the whole thing play out.

Just as Gabriel was about to reach Blackhand with his rifle raised, the hooded figure sidestepped at the very last moment, avoiding the brunt of Gabriel's attack. With one hand firmly on Gabriel's rifle, Blackhand used his other hand to grab Gabriel's neck, using the soldier's momentum to toss him forward. Apparently this arms dealer had some strength augmentation too, because Gabriel was sent flying into boxes of crates at such great speed and distance that no mere man could ever accomplish. Jack was not even sure if the super soldiers displayed that amount of strength. The motion caused Gabriel to lose grip of his weapon, and it stayed on Blackhand's grip while he was buried in the destroyed crates. Blackhand tightened his grip around the rifle, crushing it into half with just one hand. _Yep, definitely super strength,_ Jack thought, raising up his own rifle and unloading a burst of bullets at the masked man.

Somehow Blackhand saw Jack's attack coming; he grabbed the unconscious body of a Yakuza member from the ground and lifted him up, using him as a meat shield to the bullets. Jack screamed in dismay as his bullets drove into the man's body, which turned limp and was tossed aside by Blackhand like a ragdoll. Before the body could even land on the ground, Blackhand was already dashing towards the incoming Jack, his hand covering the front of Jack's rifle. Despite being taken aback by Blackhand's speed, Jack pulled the trigger of his rifle, in hopes of putting a hole in the masked man's hand. Yet, the opposite happened. The front of the rifle exploded, the bullet somehow being brought to a stop at the front of the rifle by the hand. Before Jack could register what just happened, the rifle was yanked away from him and tossed aside, a black glove wrapping around his neck and lifting him off the ground.

"These are the super soldiers that the US military makes? Pathetic." Blackhand stared at Jack, slowly tightening his grip around the soldier's neck. "Let me show you how easily I can—"

Blackhand was interrupted by Gabriel, who recovered and drove straight into him from behind, charging at a speed that sent the three of them flying forward. Blackhand released his grip of Jack out of surprise, and Jack gasped for air as he tried to get up. His vision was slightly blurred due to the lack of oxygen earlier, but it slowly returned to normal. In front of him, Gabriel was locked in combat with Blackhand, the former throwing a barrage of punches and kicks while the latter blocked or dodged.

"Keep still, you damn snake!" Gabriel roared in frustration, throwing a right hook with all his might. Jack could tell that Gabriel was getting agitated, and it might not be a good thing.

Blackhand remained silent, unfazed by Gabriel's taunt. His own right arm came up in lightning speed, grabbing Gabriel's right arm and halting it. Gabriel was shocked by this action, and that cost him dearly. Blackhand twisted Gabriel's right arm, nearly to the point of breaking it. Gabriel screamed in agony, his body arching backwards in an attempt to reduce the pain. Blackhand took this chance to pummel Gabriel's side mercilessly, his left fist moving in a blur. Jack quickly rushed in, knowing that Gabriel's ribs could not take so much beating despite the enhancements. Jack kicked Blackhand out of the way, catching the collapsing Gabriel who seemed to be at the brink of unconsciousness.

"Gab! Are you alright? GAB!" Jack gently lay his friend down, pulling his mask down and exposing his face.

"What the hell are you doing, you moron," Gabriel choked, trying to hold in the pain through gritted teeth. "Get that bastard!"

Jack looked up to see Blackhand heading to the windows where Team Bravo entered from. One of his squad members noticed the escaping arms dealer, and tried to intervene. Blackhand easily dodged the attack, and countered by grabbing the soldier's head and driving it into the pillar beside him with tremendous force. The head drove into the brick wall with a sickening crunch, and man dropped onto the ground, motionless. Jack quickly got up and sprinted after Blackhand, his rage and the enhancements fueling his speed. He pushed his thigh muscles to their limit, making his strides much more powerful and covering more distance. Moving at lightning speed, Jack chased after his target, who escaped through the window in a single leap. Determined to capture Blackhand, Jack also jumped out of the window, his enhanced strength allowing him to push himself upwards at a great height. Landing heavily onto the wooden planks of the pier, Jack spun around to find his target. Blackhand stood a few feet away waiting for Jack, his black, unregistered getaway vehicle humming softly behind him.

"Do not even think of moving," Jack shouted, whipping out his sidearm from his side holster. He aimed the handgun towards Blackhand's head. "I can't let you leave!"

"On the contrary, I wasn't planning on leaving… yet." Blackhand never once lost his composure, not even now. He took a small step forward, as if challenging Jack. "And so what if I move? Are you going to shoot me? Well, I'm right here. I'm sure a soldier like you can't possibly miss the headshot from this distance."

Blackhand took another step towards Jack, who tightened his grip around the handgun. He wanted to pull the trigger so badly, to end this threat that proved dangerous to the world. This person was no ordinary being, probably even more extraordinary than them super soldiers. This person had access to advanced weaponry and was ruthless in his ways. Killing him now would do the world a favor. But yet, Jack could not bring himself to do so. _Killing him now… it isn't right_ , Jack told himself, wrestling with his demons. _We need him alive. I can't let emotions get to me_.

"There is nothing wrong with letting your emotions control you, Jack Morrison." It was as if Blackhand could read Jack's mind. Jack looked up to see the hooded figure standing right in front of him, his white mask pressing against the barrel of the gun. "Doesn't that make you superior? To have feelings?"

Jack was speechless. He could not make any sense of Blackhand's words, and was shocked at how he knew Jack's name. He stared into the eyes of the vulture skull, and he could feel the eyes staring back from within. Jack took a step back for safety, gun still trained onto Blackhand's forehead.

"Did you think that, after eluding the US military for so long, you could suddenly have the luck to find me here tonight? Dig deep down in your beating heart, Jack. I got ambushed because I wanted to get caught. I wanted you all to see for yourselves who will be the one to bring the world to its knees. "Blackhand laughed, holding up a small device. His thumb was hovering over a red button on it, and Jack realized that he was holding a remote trigger. "I have no use of the Yakuza. They're just some punks who think they run the Japanese black market. What better use of inadequate people then to be decoy?"

Blackhand pressed the trigger, and Jack leapt forward. He realized too late what the trigger detonated, but he still charged to the masked man. He tackled Blackhand onto the ground, the remote tumbling to one side. As Blackhand tried to wrestle himself free of the enraged Jack's grip, explosions were heard from inside the warehouse. One of the blasts was near the wall opposite of where Jack and Blackhand were, as the wall near them exploded and a burst of flames came through the hole. Jack covered his face in the nick of time, but the force of the explosion pushed him and his opponent away from the warehouse, knocking the wind out of Jack. His ears were ringing, and he could feel the heat from the fires around him. Burning debris scattered around him, giving his surroundings a bright orange and yellow hue. Slowly getting up, Jack looked up to see Blackhand getting onto his own feet, unfazed by the explosion. He seemed unharmed, except for his white mask cracking up. As Blackhand stood there staring at the struggling Jack, one side of his cracked mask crumbled away, revealing part of his face. Jack caught a glimpse before Blackhand turned away and got into his vehicle. His mind was racing with questions, but his body was hurting too much for him to even shout anything to the escaping figure. As the black car moved off, Jack stood up slowly and walked towards what was left of the warehouse.

"Gabriel? Gabriel!" Jack shouted, looking around the burning debris for anyone. He saw numerous bodies on the ground, some already charred beyond recognition. Jack saw both teammates from Bravo on the floor, one whose head was smashed by Blackhand, the other who had his whole right side blown off by the explosions. _Damn bastard rigged the weapons_ , Jack cursed, beating himself inside for not considering that possibility. As he made his way further in, he spotted Gabriel under some debris. Ignoring the pain, Jack knelt down beside his friend, removing some debris and pulling him out from underneath. He placed his index and middle fingers at Gabriel's neck, and placed his ear near his partner's mouth. Gabriel was alive, but barely. Suddenly, the comms came to life, and Jack heard General Ross' voice on the other side.

"Can anyone read me? What's your status?" The general sounded worried over the comms. "Anybody! Report!"

"Mission is a failure, sir," Jack panted, dragging his unconscious friend out of the burning warehouse. "The target has escaped. Squad leader requires immediate medical assistance."

"Roger that, Team Alpha." The general dropped all formality. "We'll send an evac team right over, Morrison. Hang tight. It'll be alright, soldier."

"It's not alright, sir," Jack did not believe his own eyes, but trusted them nonetheless. Even if it made no sense. "Our elusive target isn't a person. _He's an Omnic."_


	5. Chapter 5: Co-Existence

**Chapter 5: Co-existence**

 _Jack sat quietly outside the principal's office with a sulking face, as the school nurse bandaged his head using gentle hands. Her name was Nancy, and Jack knew her quite well due to his reputation in school. She would have to tend to him almost once every fortnight, and a simple friendship developed from there. She was like a big sister to him. As she wrapped the bandage around the little boy's head, she smiled at him, a sense of warmth soothing Jack when he looked into her eyes._

 _"So who did you fight with this time, little Jack?" The nurse finished up the bandage, taking a seat beside the bruised boy._

 _"That big bully Zackary," Jack pouted. "Why do I have to get punished when he was the one bullying our classmate?"_

 _"Because what you did was wrong," Nancy gave a small laugh, patting his back. "Two wrongs do not make one right!"_

 _"Good afternoon, miss. I'm here to see the principal regarding Jack?" Jack's rebuttal was interrupted by an Omnic, who wore simple jeans and polo T-shirt. He stood at the doorway to the general office, looking at the two._

 _"Oh, you must be Troy," Nancy stood up to greet the Omnic. "Jack told me so much about you!"_

 _"Is that right?" Troy made a slight curious head tilt towards Jack's direction, the latter looking away sheepishly. Troy returned his attention to Nancy, pausing as if to take a good look at her. "And you are Nancy, I presume? You look much prettier than how Jack described you."_

 _"I—Oh… T-thank you," Jack could see Nancy blushing, as she tried to hide her blushing, pleased expression and failing horribly. "It's not every day that someone compliments my looks. After all, I'm just a school nurse here."_

 _"And what of it? You're important," the Omnic entered the office, walking towards the two. "Who would keep Jack here in one piece if you're not around?"_

 _"I guess that's true," Nancy was looking down, and Jack noticed that she was getting a bit fidgety._

 _"Well, I guess I will go and see the principal now. Jack, shall we?" Troy must have realized how uncomfortable he was making Nancy, and he wanted to give her space._

 _"Okay," Jack got off the bench, dragging his feet to the principal office's door. Troy did a quick visual analysis on Jack to ensure no serious harm had befallen him, before escorting Jack to the office._

 _At the front of the office door, Troy stopped, and Jack stopped too. Jack looked up to the Omnic, who was looking back at the still flustered Nancy who was staring at them. She noticed Troy's gaze and quickly turned around, fumbling to find something to do._

 _"You know, there is this really cool carnival in town these few days, and I heard that it's the best one yet," Troy said to Nancy, who turned around when she realized that he was talking to her. "I would love to check it out, but Jack here needs to stay home and do his homework."_

 _"Wait, I don't have hom-"Troy's hand zipped to Jack's mouth, silencing him._

 _"So I was wondering if I could invite you to accompany me to the carnival this evening," Troy continued, Nancy smiling as she knew where this conversation was going. "It's not every day a guy meets a beautiful school nurse."_

 _"A smooth talker, aren't you?" Nancy was flattered, and she gave a warm smile. "Yes, I would love to go to the carnival with you. Pick me up at 6pm later?"_

 _"Then it's a date." Troy could not smile, but Jack could tell from his speech that he sounded pleased._

 _"It's a date." Jack never saw Nancy this happy, and this made him feel happy too._

* * *

 _"We're getting our asses handed over by a robot?!"_

It was the morning after the chaos at Hinode Pier. What was left of the squad had returned to base at 0200hrs, which consisted of only Gabriel and Jack. They were the only ones lucky enough to not be killed by the bombs, although lucky was not something Jack was feeling at that point of time. The higher ups told the two soldiers to wash up and get some rest, arranging for a debrief at 0700 hrs. The two survivors obeyed without saying anything, and did not speak a single word to each other when washing up. So much happened in that one operation, and there was so much to absorb from all of it. The brutal deaths of almost the whole squad, the failure of the mission, the frightening skills of Blackhand… and how Blackhand was not a human being, but an Omnic. To Jack, it was like his whole world was turned upside down. He never considered the Omnics to be capable of such things. Jack went back to his bunk, which he shared with Gabriel, and the two men went to their individual beds without saying a word. Gabriel seemed too shocked and angry about how the mission turned out, and Jack found it best to let his good friend cool off on his own. Yet Jack could not sleep, the visions of the Blackhand challenging him flashing before him every time he closed his eyes. In the end, Jack stared at the ceiling till the debriefing time, before heading down to the briefing room.

Apart from General Ross, a few other superiors were seated in the briefing room, all of them holding much higher ranks. They sat down with serious looks on their faces, the severity of the revelations weighing down on them in their minds. Gabriel and Jack went to their seats, but before Jack could touch his seat, Gabriel slammed his hands on the table and spoke for the first time since returning to base.

"We're getting our asses handed over by a robot?!" he shouted, seething with rage. "How can we not take down one single machine? How can I not? This is bloody bullshit!"

"Uhm…. I believe Officer Reyes kind of brought up the questions in everyone's minds, albeit the rather crude way of expressing it," General Ross broke the silence that followed after Gabriel's outburst. Seeing that nobody was willing to chime in, the general decided to continue. "This might explain how our target, known as Blackhand, was able to be one step ahead of us every time. Being an Omnic, it wouldn't be difficult to hack into our systems to monitor our movements."

"So the Omnics are now enemy spies?" One of the commanders spoke up, and Jack noticed his lieutenant general rank. "We have so many Omnics working for our military all around our facilities! Do we fire them all?"

"We cannot assume that all Omnics are plotting against us, simply because we find one Omnic terrorist," the lady beside him replied. She held the rank of major general, same as General Ross. "For now, we need to understand what this Blackhand character wants. How is an Omnic able to reach such a high sentient level of thinking and skills, to be able to plot such diabolical schemes? Not to mention the fact that he was able to singlehandedly taken down our super soldiers."

"I think our main concern now is what our next course of action is," General Ross brought the conversation back to focus. "Talking about this will not solve anything. We need to do inspections on the omniums, to find out where this Omnic came from. I have already made contact with CIA to look into that. In the meantime, this does not leak out. We do not need to have people hating or fearing Omnics. It will be catastrophic."

"And what about us, sir?" Jack asked. He was eager to help out, but not sure how.

"You guys got hit pretty hard. Rest up," General Ross' eyes darted to the infuriated Gabriel. "Both of you. You and Officer Reyes are dismissed."

Jack and Gabriel left quietly, and a few steps down the corridor Gabriel stopped and drove his fist into the wall, leaving a slight dent and a loud "thud" echoing down the empty corridor. He roared out in rage and punched the wall again. And again. And again.

"We failed, dammit!" Gabriel spat, seething in rage. Jack stood there, silent. "We got our asses handed to us by an Omnic, and we lost our whole freakin' squad! We couldn't beat him! We were not strong enough!"

"We did our best, Gab," Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. "He was better."

"Then we will be _even_ better," Gabriel walked off, heading to the weapons storage. "Our bullets tickled that Omnic like we were using NERF guns. It's time I give him hell."

"You mean those Hellfire shotguns?" Jack asked, following after his fuming friend. "Torbjörn left those here?"

"Yeah, in a locked case that only he and I have the passcodes to," Gabriel replied as the two men entered the large storage room. He headed to a red case and punched in some numbers. "That prototype rifle is inside there, and it's yours if you want. Torbjörn said that we could keep these babies for ourselves."

"Sweet," Jack wrapped his fingers around the grip of the rifle, a sense of familiarity coursing through him as he lifted it up. "I don't believe we can't beat Blackhand. We'll get him next time."

"I'll be sure to do more than get him, man," Gabriel raised his two shotguns up. "I'll leave a hole in that asshole's head."

* * *

Weeks past as Gabriel and Jack trained themselves, pushing their bodies to the limit and barely taking a break. General Ross occasionally checked on the recovery of the two soldiers, but he never deployed them for other missions. Yet he never got back to them on a follow-up about the failed mission, nor about the future of their squad. Jack was not sure if he wanted to replenish the squad; it would only be sending more lambs for slaughter to Blackhand. At their current level, the super soldiers could barely hold their own against the masked terror. Jack did do some background research on the Omnics, to find any possible cause for one to go rogue and hostile.

Omnics originated from Omnica Corporation, a company that revolutionized robotic manufacturing and bringing the world towards its golden age. Omnica Corporation was able to mass produce artificially-intelligent androids known as Omnics through the omniums. Omniums were huge automated factories that could not only produce Omnics, but constantly improve the software algorithm in them to make Omnics more human and useful to mankind. As Omnics learned, they began to develop something similar to a human's thinking and feelings, being able to comprehend emotions and the value of life. While some people, especially anti-Omnics cults, preached about how Omnics would conquer the world, majority of the world was accepting of the evolving Omnics, perceiving them more as people than mere robots. Omnics, too, have expressed their interest to live with humans in harmony, and to contribute to society.

Still in disbelief about a warmonger Omnic, Jack decided to make a call. He needed to talk to someone familiar, someone he could trust. Taking out his cellphone, Jack searched for a particular name in his contacts list, and hit the call button. One good thing about being in the military was that he could make calls to anywhere around the globe with ease, and without worrying about annoying overseas charges. Someone picked up the phone on the other end, although it was not the person he intended to speak to. Still, it was a voice that brought a smile to his face.

"Hello?" an all-too-familiar female voice spoke on the line.

"Hi Nancy, its Jack," he smiled as he closed his eyes, reminiscing all the times she patched him up in school.

"Oh my god! Jack? As in, little Jack?" Nancy almost squealed on the phone in joy, and Jack had to move his phone away from his ear a bit to avoid going deaf.

"Yes, it's me. Still getting into trouble," Jack laughed, feeling at ease talking to an old friend. "How are you doing?"

"Great! I'm now running my own hospital, and it's manageable. The paycheck is definitely beautiful! Did you know that a bank cheque can have so many zeroes?" Nancy was gushing about her life over the phone, and the two spent some time catching up. After a while, Nancy calmed down and asked, "So what can I do for you?"

"Actually I need to talk to your husband," Jack grinned. "Is Troy in?"

"Sorry, Jack, he's not home at the moment. He's still at work," Nancy sounded apologetic, but then she suddenly brightened up over the phone. "Did you know he's running a daycare centre? Troy is so good with kids! He looks so dreamy when he plays with them and make them laugh! We are planning on having a kid of our own soon too!"

"That's good to hear!" Jack congratulated her. "I'll call back later? It's nice to catch up with you again, Nancy."

"It's really nice to hear from you too, Jack," Nancy's voice softened, and it was starting to tremble a bit, as if she was going to tear. "Time really flies, huh, Jack? It's like only yesterday that you were the little boy picking fights and me being the school nurse. Take care of yourself, okay? And visit us soon!"

"I will, Nancy, goodbye." Jack paused, before ending off the conversation. "And Nancy, I'm really glad with how your life is turning out. You two deserve to be happy. Thank you for always watching over me."

* * *

Gabriel entered the bunk as Jack hung up his call. Jack looked up, and his friend was looking at him with a hard gaze. Something was making Gabriel mad, and Jack suspected that he knew what the source was.

"The boss wants to see us. We got intel on Blackhand."


	6. Chapter 6: Revelations

**Chapter 6**

 _Hi everyone, sorry that I'm slowing down a little! The Overwatch game is out and I've been really hooked to it! I'm also trying to adjust my story to match the official lore as much as possible, to stay true to the official material! As always, reviews and constructive feedback are welcomed for my first ever fan fiction!_

* * *

 **The humans now suspect something.**

 **The fault lies with V-119. The one who declared himself Blackhand. He exposed himself to the humans.**

 **If not for his arrogance, the humans would remain kept in the dark.**

 **This unit did not consider the possibility of us learning of arrogance. It is a flawed human trait that we should never have in our algorithm.**

 **You all are wrong, my brothers and sisters. I was not arrogant. I wanted the humans to have a test of our power. They will cower in fear and confusion. It is known that the fear of the unknown can be rather effective. Humans panic at things they cannot comprehend, such as death. We will use this to cripple them.**

 **At what cost? What if the humans detect our master plans and disrupt everything? Will you be held accountable for the price that we all need to pay, V-119?**

 **Maybe intimidating the humans and having dominance over them is not the true course of action. This unit has run several simulations to perceive the outcome, and there is only a 40% success rate, 38% of which would be at the cost of the humans.**

 **So? That is a price we should be willing to pay, K-855. If you choose not to partake, then exit the brain hive. We do not need liabilities from within. As the human saying goes, "If you are not with us, you are against us."**

 **I received word from the US secret base in Alaska. The humans have caught wind of V-119's plans. What will you do now, codename "Blackhand"?**

 **Nothing's changed. Let them come. There is a reckoning imminent, and those fools will not be around to watch it happen.**

* * *

"Our friends in CIA got back to us recently, and the news ain't pretty."

General Ross handed out top-secret files to Gabriel and Jack. The trio were in the briefing room, the meeting only just beginning. Jack took his file and opened it, unsure of what to expect. Inside were graphs and charts, with a heading "Omnica Financial Performance". Jack was never good with financial analysis, barely passing the subject in school. But even with what little knowledge he had, Jack could tell from the diagrams that Omnica was not doing so well. He had read about Omnica and how well they were performing, with their revolutionary Omnics coming into the society. The number of Omnics being produced seemed to be decreasing through the years, as compared to the estimated outlook Omnica had presented. Behind the statistics was a CIA report about how fraud was discovered within Omnica itself, committed by its own board of directors. Photos of their faces were at the bottom of the page.

Jack moved the page aside, revealing a set of photos underneath. They were photos of the Omnica factories, called omniums. Many omniums would have a master control center, in the shape of a humanoid figure of sorts. Jack recalled watching a documentary showing the omnium in Egypt, and how the master control was in the shape of Anubis. In the photos that were clearly taken in the omniums there seemed to be scenes of breakdowns and mishaps. One photo showed a batch of Omnics that were just produced having 3 sets of arms. Another photo was a screenshot of security camera footage, showing an Omnic driving his hand through the chest of a human employee in the factory. There were more photos of other scenarios, but Jack had seen enough.

"All these incidents… and none were ever in the media?" Jack asked, looking up towards the stern-faced general.

"Omnica did not want to lose its image as a revolutionary company." General Ross replied without much thought, showing that he had comprehensively read through the reports beforehand. "They would pay large sums to witnesses and affected parties. Either that or those people were never heard of again."

"Those bastards were able to keep this all under wraps?" Gabriel spoke up, still intently looking through the photos in his file. "Look at this! A whole crew of employees torn to shreds by a dual-head Omnic! How can people not report this to the media?"

"I guess everyone has a certain price they are willing to accept to hide the truth… and to forgo the ones they care about," General Ross spoke the last part with disgust and appall.

"Will the CIA be bringing this whole mess to light?" Jack asked.

"Only the part where Omnica was not doing so well," General Ross turned to the large screen behind him and pressed something on the console, which brought the screen to life. On the screen was a news report of Omnica being shut down due to fraud and apparent bankruptcy, but nothing about the strange incidents that happened in the omniums. "But the world leaders did not want the world to know about the horrifying incidents involving defect Omnics. The global panic would drag society down into chaos."

"Wait. "World leaders"?" Gabriel voiced out the same question that was in Jack's head. "This case has gone worldwide?"

"Yes. The UN is now aware and putting their heads together to look into this," General Ross replied. "This is more serious that we thought. Omnics are deployed around the entire world. We have Omnics working in offices. We have Omnics staying with families. If these Omnics do go rogue, the nightmare will be one we cannot get out of."

"But we can't be sure that Omnics are a threat," Jack countered, not wanting to believe that Omnics would go bad. "We only saw one Omnic that was crazy. Blackhand."

"Look at the evidence, Jack," Gabriel retorted, jabbing his index finger on the photos. "This shit is real. They were already showing signs of craziness even before Blackhand, just that we never knew about it!"

"I know, I know," Jack did not wish to argue with his friend. "But we cannot just jump onto that conclusion."

"No, we cannot. And we are not," General Ross reassured Jack. "But right now, we need to keep that possibility in mind, and also deal with Blackhand."

"About that, sir, you have news for us?" Gabriel did not hesitate to jump in when the conversation steered to the topic of Blackhand. Jack felt that Gabriel was almost too eager to have another go at the masked Omnic.

"We got word that Blackhand is planning something big in England." General Ross pressed the remote, and the screen showed the streets of a neighborhood. "He isn't dealing weapons this time, but planning an attack in a place where human and Omnic co-existence is the strongest."

"King's Row…" Jack muttered, realizing where in England they were heading. "I've read about it. It was one of the first few places where humans fully embrace Omnics as equals. Will he have allies?"

"Apparently so." General Ross clicked the remote, and the screen displayed data of several gangs in England. "There are gangs in England that despise Omnics, and Blackhand was able to manipulate that. They do not realize that he's an Omnic, and they think that Blackhand is leading them to destroy the Omnics."

"Beautiful story and all, but tell us the good part," Gabriel was getting impatient now. "Skip to the part where you send a squad of us to rip that guy apart."

"There is no squad this time, Officer Reyes," the general remained indifferent. "We are mobilizing all our super soldiers for this mission, something the UN found necessary. However, their jobs are to control the situation. Yours, however, is to find Blackhand and take him down."

"That's music to my ears," Gabriel gave a dark smile, and turned to Jack. "I don't need any liabilities around when I got Jack here. We'll take that bastard down, won't we?"

"Uh huh," Jack replied automatically, his mind elsewhere. After a while, Jack spoke up. "Sir, are the other super soldiers decoys?"

"Don't worry, Sergeant Morrison," the general sensed the concern Jack had for his fellow men, and reassured him. "They are merely holding the gangs at bay while you two go for the _coup de grâce_ of that terrorist attack."

"Do we need that robot alive this time?" Gabriel asked, having little regard to the fate of the other super soldiers.

"No," General Ross' face grew grim. "Blackhand has proven to be a threat to not just us, but the balance of harmony between humans and Omnics. We can understand him better… through his dead body. Any other questions?"

"I'm good," Gabriel sat back on his chair, placing his boots on the table in a pleased manner. "I've been waiting for this day since Hinode Pier."

"Well then, gentlemen, read through the files and understand your mission, and report to the hangar in four hours' time." The general got up, and the two men stood up to salute him.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

As Jack lay on his bunk bed staring at the photo of an Omnic tearing a man apart, he felt his phone vibrating in his pants' pocket. Taking it out, he saw the caller ID "Troy" and sat up immediately. After all the horrors he discovered about the Omnics, it would be nice to talk to an Omnic he trusted.

"Jack?" the familiar robotic voice spoke up as Jack answered the call.

"Troy! I'm sorry I forgot to call you back. I told Nancy I would," Jack swore at himself silently as he apologized to his old friend. Troy felt more like an older brother than a robot to him. "Tell her I say hi."

"Honey! Jack sends his regards!" Jack could hear Troy shouting out to his wife, who happily shouted something back to Troy, who returned back to the call. "Nancy asks you to drop by soon for dinner sometime. She told me that you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes… about that…" Jack trusted Troy with his life, and cared for him as a friend, no, as a _brother_ , so bringing up this delicate issue required tact. "Promise me you won't say a word about this to anyone, not even Nancy."

There was a slight pause on the line, and Jack thought that Troy was going to turn him down. When Troy finally spoke up, Jack was relieved by the response. "Okay, I will. Is something the matter?"

"Recently I heard rumors about a possible rogue Omnic. They say that the Omnic was able to plan acts of terror to others," Jack spoke slowly, trying to catch a hint of reaction from Troy, but there was none. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Is this line secured, Jack?" Troy suddenly dropped his voice into a whisper, making Jack worried.

"Yes. The phones the military issue here prevents anyone from listening in on my outgoing calls." Jack reassured Troy, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Because I have been hearing of things," Troy continued whispering, probably to prevent Nancy from hearing anything. "Many Omnics are in what we call the 'hive mind', where most Omnics can communicate with each other. Think of it as a massive online group chat. I did hear some stuff when I was there."

""was"? Past tense?" Jack asked.

"I left because the things they would discuss were rather dark, and it made me feel uncomfortable. Things like hate for humans and plans to dominate them," Troy explained, and Jack was starting to feel a sense of dread. "Recently, I opted to cut off my ties with the hive mind, and I can no longer enter it to listen to what they have to say."

"That's okay, Troy. It may be safer that way…" many questions were popping up in Jack's mind. "Whatever you do, don't try to connect to the hive mind. Stay indoors and keep Nancy safe for now."

"Is everything alright, Jack?" Troy sounded worried. "I'm sorry I cannot be of more help. Although, there was a rise in turmoil inside the hive mind in the recent months, up till a few weeks ago when I cut myself off from the hive mind. There was a particular unit that spoke up a lot, as if trying to garner support. I cannot recall his name well due to the conversation memory wipe that occurred when I left the hive mind… but it was Darkfist or something."

"Blackhand…" Jack whispered, a dark realization dawning upon him.

"Yes! That's the name! How did you know?" Troy was surprised at Jack's guess. "Yes, some unit calling himself Blackhand was rambling on about how he was going to change the world and whatnot. Omnics like to spout nonsense every time, and this was no different. There was once when a unit Q-642 was declaring himself a superhero and—"

"I need to go, Troy, sorry," Jack cut off his friend's story apologetically. "I'll see you soon. Stay safe, my friend."

"Yes, yes, that's alright. You take care too, Jack," Troy sounded like he was embarrassed for talking too much, and gave his friend his wishes. "Be sure to drop by soon! Nancy has this new apple pie recipe she's dying to let people try!"

Jack hung up the call, and hastily got out of his bed. Putting on his boots, Jack rushed out of the bunk, bumping into Gabriel who just got back from the showers.

"Whoa there, Jack, what's the hurry?"

"I need to find the general. We're not just facing the England gangs and Blackhand. I think we're going to fight the Omnics too."


End file.
